dreams and tarot and searching

Navigation

Tag Archives: Devil

Post navigation

2015 turned out to be a pretty eventful year for me — and NOT in a good way. Many sucky things happened. My husband and I faced some HUGE challenges, and endured the absolute WORST and SCARIEST period of our entire lives. I do not want to relive that, ever.

Ahem…

In an effort to move forward into the new year with some new perspective — tabula rasa and all that — I thought it might be prudent to do a new year reading. Instead of going for the month-by-month spread that I did last time, I decided to use a spread I learned from a friend when she used it for me years ago. Decks in action: Raven’s Prophecy and Earthbound Oracle.

New Year Reading | Raven’s Prophecy Tarot & Earthbound Oracle

SPIRIT: Personal Development & Transformation
(Four of Swords & Release)
The hand lays open, release is evident. A sense of relief emanates from these two cards. By allowing myself to take a break, I’ll be able to release whatever’s been holding me back.

FIRE: Passion, Creativity, Inspiration
(Seven of Cups & Reflect)
I have a lot of things that inspire me; a lot of options. If I want to make progress in any of them, I need to reflect on them and decide which one(s) to pursue.

AIR: Intellect, Learning, Communication
(Eight of Swords & Sleep)
Whenever I run into trouble or doubt, I need to remember that I can step away, take a breath, and slow down. Each time I feel like I’m holding myself back, it’s time for me to take a break.

EARTH: Home, Health, Wealth/Work
(Five of Wands & Time)
Getting impatient will do me no good. I need to rise to challenges, knowing that by doing so, my situation will improve in time. Don’t be lazy and pout about working out / cleaning / etc. — just do it, and over time it will become a good routine.

WATER: Heart, Relationships, Inner Development
(The Devil & Travel | Clarifiers: Six of Cups & Achievement)
Make sure to keep the balance between what chains you and allowing yourself freedom. Equal time for nostalgia and achievement will be necessary.

SHADOW CARDS
(Nine of Wands & Home)
I might want to default on staying home and defending my position. Better not to.

I’ve felt a bit lost. I know I should be pursuing some purpose, some… thing(as Ace Ventura would say), but I just can’t seem to snatch it from the ether, you know? I need direction, but until now, nothing really seemed exactly right. Now, however, I think I have my first step in the right direction with this reading. I’ve decided to follow Irmata’s initial spread and then break it down further with clarifying questions.

Soul Gifts reading – Darkana tarot

Because I’m digging so deep with this, I don’t expect many visitors to read the whole thing, but that’s fine. It’s mostly for me anyway, eh? I used Darkana for the main spread and Joie de Vivre for the clarifiers, because it just felt right.Continue reading →

Have you ever created your own spread? If so, how effective is it?

Well, the short answer is no. The long answer is probably also very close to no.

I really don’t feel confident enough in my tarot skills yet to try creating my own spreads. Most of the time I use a spread created by someone else. Probably the closest I’ve come to creating my own spread is something like this. For example, if the querent wants to know about her career and her love life, I’ll pull 3 cards for each topic and lay them out in rows.

An example of my super awesome technique, demonstrated with the Mary-El Tarot

It’s not really making my own spread, but utilizing the 3-card spread multiple times within the same reading. I’ve had plenty of success with this method (I mean, it’s kind of hard to mess up).

Okay, sorry, I know this is pretty boring. Are you tired of hearing me talk about the 3-card spread yet? I know I’m getting tired of mentioning it. Hah!

I got a new deck in the mail today (yay!) – the Sun and Moon tarot – so of course I wanted to try it out. The little white book that accompanies the deck leaves much to be desired, in my opinion, which was disappointing. However, the deck itself is the perfect size for my hands (yay!) and I really enjoy the illustrations, as well as the lovely lettering (and keywords) on the cards.

I don’t have any particular needs or questions right now, so I wanted to choose a spread that was self-reflective. I came across a lovely Sacred Mandala spread from Biddy Tarot, so I chose to use that one.

The Self – You in your current state and your totality of being.

Ambitions and Desires – Your instinctual urges and material cravings such as sexuality, lust, and fulfillment of your basic needs.

Ideals and Aspirations – Your deeper urges and desires including your dreams, ideals, and those things that offer spiritual fulfillment.

Actual Endeavours – Those endeavours you actually choose to pursue in the real world, including your career, hobbies, and day-to-day life.

Ambitions and Desires – The Empress
Pursuing the feminine divine, ah yes. So much. To be in able to harness and control my feminine strength; this IS what I desire.

Ideals and Aspirations – Death/Rebirth
Ha. Well, yeah. Kinda, particularly accurate for me these days. Seeking rebirth because I just feel stagnant and stuck in the mud. Seeking that fiery rebirth of a phoenix.

Dependencies and Addictions – Eight of Wands (swiftness)
Tis true; I can be impatient. I like when things move along swiftly and directly toward their targets. I guess that’s not always good? Maybe I tend to act TOO quickly. Argh.

Strengths – Four of Swords (truce)
Sun and Moon says: “Jupiter in Libra. Balance. To negotiate and to solve problems.” Why yes, yes. That is me and I am good with that.

Faults and Weaknesses – King of Pentacles
Er, I guess this means I’m bad at having confidence and stuff? Or I’m over-confident? Hmm…

My copy of The Collective Tarot came in the mail today, and I freaking love it! The cards are quite large; probably the same size as the Mary-El. However, they are not nearly as stiff, so they shuffle easily if I do half the deck at once. Of course, I had to do a reading with it. I chose the Feng Shui spread, since it seemed like a great overall spread and there’s nothing in particular I wanted to know about right now. I found this spread in the June 2012 edition of the TABI Tracker newsletter.

1. Career and Work – 10 Chance (The Wheel of Fortune)
What this really says to me is “you’re in the midst of change” and it is so right. Things at work are changing a lot, and I’m being pushed and challenged more than I’m comfortable with. The annoying thing is that I should be excited about learning and trying new things, but for some reason I’m resistant. Probably just because it’s a change, and I’m not able to sit in my comfy little cave of sameness anymore. I guess it’s time for me to quit resisting and roll with it.

2. Family and Relationships – Three of Bones (3/P)
Right on track, I’m focusing too much on work, instead of on my lovely marriage. I don’t know why, how, or when I became so focused on my job, but it’s been really annoying. I need to find a way to freaking let go and focus on my home life more.

3. Health – Nine of Feathers (9/S)
Ha! This is so spot-on that it’s almost insulting. I need to quit torturing myself for no reason and learn how to relax. My issues are self-induced, and I KNOW this, but it’s hard to stop sometimes. Ugh. Self-destructive behavior can be a nasty circle. You have no idea how amazing and helpful the LWB was on this card alone.

4. Wealth and Finances – Artist of Keys (Q/W)
Looks like I’m savvy and all good in this department. Thankfully. I’ve gotten a great hold of my finances and it feels SO good. And this card is a very timely reminder that I need to set up an IRA already – BEFORE I turn 30 (which is coming very soon indeed).

5. The Underlying Situation – Ten of Bottles (10/C)
I look at this and I just have to laugh because it’s so true. My home life and my marriage are freaking awesome right now. So how is this the underlying situation? Because I’m an idiot and focus too much on work and engage in self-destructive behavior, etc. Maybe it’s like… there’s no *actual* stress in my life so I have to create some? So, so lame. God… (Uh-oh, is this me being too hard on myself, thus perpetuating the cycle? Ha!)

6. Support from Others – Five of Bottles (5/C)
Cry cry, I’m not getting much support from others. I guess this is a reminder that I should be grateful for the support I do have, and know that I can be okay on my own.

7. Children or Others Being Supported – 0 The Fool
Ooh, well… this is pretty true. I’m supporting my husband while he finishes his degree, and he’s still got two more years. He really is just starting out on his life journey as an adult (sort of), and he has a lot of learning and growing to do. Yes.

8. Knowledge or Study – Ten of Feathers (10/S)
Feeling pretty hopeless. Well, yeah, it’s true. This study is obviously referring to my job right now. I’ve been tasked with learning some entirely new aspects of our industry and it feels very daunting. I’m really unmotivated and not as interested in it as I should be – especially for a person who prides herself on seeking knowledge and a curiosity to know and learn many things. Gah.

9. How Others See Me – 15 Oppression (The Devil)
Wow, how freaking depressing. People see me as oppressed? Pushing a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down? How the HECK can I change this image of myself? Oh, I know, maybe if I lighten up and enjoy how good my life is (instead of stressing myself out for no reason). Man…

__________

This deck gave me a great, straightforward read of myself, which I really liked. The booklet that came with it was full of great advice for each card, too. I love it! Surprisingly, one of the easiest decks to read with, so far.